{"nrhp_refnum":"02001612","name":"Cohasset Central Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"N. Main St. and Joy Place","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cohasset","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.24571514700003,"lon":-70.80728307850386,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-12-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Art","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Cohasset Central Cemetery is a 4.286-acre burying ground on a bluff overlooking Little Harbor, at North Main Street and Joy Place in Cohasset, Massachusetts. Its first grave dates from 1705, and it is still active today.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as the oldest burying ground in Cohasset, reflecting the town's development through the people interred and the changing styles of gravestones. It holds an excellent collection of gravestone art, including work by the North River carvers and the Vinals, and is the burial site of 45 victims of the 1849 wreck of the brig St. John, marked by a 1914 Celtic Cross.","narrative":"Cohasset Central Cemetery occupies a bluff above Little Harbor near the town common and has served the community since 1705, when Margaret Tower became its first burial. About 500 gravestones show the shift from gray slate carved with winged skulls and cherubs, to marble and Quincy granite in the 19th century, to modern granite markers. Carvers of the North River school and the Vinal workshop are well represented. The grounds hold a brick receiving tomb of about 1873, now a caretaker's shed, two 1980s columbaria, and granite-framed vaults along Garden Way. The most prominent monument is an eighteen-foot granite Celtic Cross, dedicated in 1914, which commemorates Irish emigrants lost in the 1849 wreck of the brig St. John; forty-five of them lie in a common grave here. Settlers, seafaring families, immigrants, veterans and summer-resident actors are also buried here, which led to its listing for its local role in the town's history and for its gravestone art.","period_of_significance":"1705-1952","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still an active cemetery managed by a cemetery board; all full-burial plots are sold, new sales are for cremated remains only, and most resources are in excellent condition with a few markers and iron fences needing repair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.870486-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/26/7964/63796426/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/02001612.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001612/5682432ac6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001612/5682432ac6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Wwoods","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cohasset_Central_Cemetery;2009-08-21.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Wwoods</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cohasset_Central_Cemetery;2009-08-21.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796426","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohasset_Central_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5141308"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/cohasset-central-cemetery-02001612/"}